The Science of Safety: A Polyvagal Skills Workshop for Clinicians

About the Seminar

Our nervous systems are at the heart of daily living — always listening, always shaping the stories we tell ourselves and influencing how we connect with others. When we understand the science of safety, we can help our clients move from protection toward connection. This workshop offers an introduction to Polyvagal Theory and practical skills you can bring into your clinical work immediately. We'll explore how the autonomic nervous system shapes experience, learn to recognize the neural pathways that organize our responses, and discover how to bring the wisdom of the nervous system into clinical work. Through didactic teaching, experiential exercises, clinical examples, and reflective practice, you'll develop your capacity to track autonomic states — your own and your clients’ —  while building a toolkit of polyvagal-informed interventions. We'll focus on befriending the nervous system, honoring its protective strategies, and creating pathways to regulation and resilience.  We’ll discover how to help clients reshape their autonomic responses and rewrite the stories that are carried in their autonomic pathways. Whether you're new to Polyvagal Theory or deepening your understanding, this workshop will help you see your clients—and yourself—through a compassionate, nervous system-informed lens. Come curious. Leave with skills, insight, and a new way of navigating the therapeutic relationship. Join internationally recognized expert Deb Dana for an evening introduction and gain a beginning understanding of Polyvagal Theory. Deepen your practice by joining the full training over the following three days.

Learning Objectives & Key Topics

During the workshop, participants will:

• Explore the three organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory and how to use them to guide clients in reshaping their autonomic responses
• Engage in autonomic mapping practices
• Learn to use elements of the social engagement system to cultivate safety in connection
• Track states of regulation and dysregulation
• Listen to the unique stories carried within autonomic states
• Apply the safety/danger equation to inform clinical decision-making
• Create continuums that expand autonomic awareness
• Practice Savoring, SIFTing, and Glimmering
• Develop multiple resources to support ventral vagal regulation

The training emphasizes befriending the nervous system, honoring its protective strategies, and supporting clients in rewriting the stories carried within their autonomic pathways.